— The unique manner in which Daniel Bryan is being promoted on television — as a “nerd” character — is the brainchild of Vince McMahon. When Michael Cole chastises the United States Champion over commentary, it’s largely the WWE Chairman feeding Cole lines than Cole developing his own insults.

— Evan Bourne is hopeful to return to the ring in time for WrestleMania after undergoing surgery on his shoulder. He is expected to be sidelined until at least February.

— Jerry Lawler’s flight to Minneapolis for Bragging Rights caught on fire and had to make an emergency landing in Syracuse, New York. The WWE Hall of Famer made mention of it during the pay-per-view broadcast.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— World Wrestling Entertainment has begun work on a DVD project highlighting Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler’s legendary career, reports PWInsider.com. It is scheduled for release in 2011.

— Only two matches are advertised for tonight’s episode of WWE Superstars on WGN America: Goldust (with Aksana) vs. William Regal, JTG vs. Primo (with AJ).

— The Undertaker is featured on the cover of the November 2010 issue of WWE Magazine.

— Responding to online reports that he was sent home early from WWE’s tour of Europe, Matt Hardy said on his Twitter account Sunday night that he’s still in the U.K.

He tweeted, “Oh Yeah! Hello World, hope everyone is doing great! Just checked the headlines in my hotel room in the UK-how the dirt-sheets entertain me..”

Furthermore, Hardy posted a video blog entry of himself in England.

— Jerry Lawler announced Saturday during Memphis Championship Wrestling that it would be the final show of the promotion.

— Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco confirmed following yesterday’s loss that he would still be appearing on tonight’s Raw.

— Chris Jericho will be appearing at the FYE at the Tri-County Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio today at 2:00 p.m. to sign copies of Fozzy’s latest album.

— World Wrestling Entertainment is expected to rush through the current season of NXT with the final episode airing on October 1 just before the premiere of Friday Night SmackDown on Syfy. The third season of NXT will feature five episodes.

While company officials adore NXT and have vowed it will continue, they have been unable to land a new home for the show. With that being said, there was a discussion this past week of moving the show to WGN America. Vince McMahon said that ideally, they would keep both NXT and WWE Superstars.

— In regards to Sheamus’ eleven second win over Zack Ryder on last week’s Raw being the shortest WWE Championship Match in history, it is not. It is believed that the shortest WWE Championship Match in history was Diesel’s victory over Bob Backlund on November 26, 1994, which lasted eight seconds. The shortest WWE match in history is believed to be The Rock defeating Big Bossman in four seconds at the 1998 Survivor Series.

— Jerry Lawler’s Memphis Wrestling television program scored a 0.7 local rating on August 21, which equals approximately 11,000 viewers.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

— Commenting on her release from World Wrestling Entertainment last week, Angela Fong (a/k/a Savannah) remarked the following on Twitter:

“It’s been a wk since my release and has felt like the longest wk of my life! It was so unexpected and I didn’t see it coming. But, I have to accept and I’m moving onwards and upwards. 3 yrs w/WWE.. it was an incredible time. I learned so much..not just how to wrestle. @ FCW,I was passionate 2 learn as much as I could, and I felt that I did. What hurts, is that I never wrestled on TV, something I really wanted. Perhaps 1 day! Thank u 2 all my FANS..hope u continue to support me. Thnk u to @WWE for everything. I will miss it! Journey has just begun 4 me! See u all soon!! :) love u!”

The former WWE ring announcer is currently accepting bookings for autograph signings, wrestling performances and ring announcing. Those interested in booking Fong should contact Steve Woolf at celebritysignings@sbcglobal.net.

— Jerry Lawler’s recently re-launched Memphis Championship Wrestling television show drew a 0.1 rating with 1,620 viewers for its June 19 episode, a far cry from the 20+ ratings and 70 market share in the Memphis market in the same time slot a number of years ago. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

— NXT ring announcer Jamie Keyes is on Twitter at the following link.

— WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler announced Thursday on his official website that he is launching a new wrestling promotion in his home city of Memphis. The inaugural taping of his new wrestling television show, Memphis Friends, was held Thursday evening at “The Vine.” The series will debut on Saturday, Jun. 5 at 11:00 a.m. on the Ion Network (channel 50) in the Memphis market. WWE will be providing footage for the series.

— News and photos of Randy Savage’s recent wedding provoked a tidal wave of internet searches pertaining to the former wrestling champion as he was one of the most searched for topics on Google.com on Thursday, according to Google Trends.

Savage recently married his long time girlfriend, Lynn — his second marriage. Images that have surfaced online show Savage looking significantly different than how wrestling fans remember him as he now sports a white beard and gray hair. His hairline has also greatly receded.

— In today’s wrestling birthdays, Chris Benoit would have turned 43 years old while Nancy “Woman” Benoit (née Toffoloni) would have turned 46.

— The official program for WrestleMania XXVI has a Divas match listed for the event: Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Eve, Gail Kim and Mickie James vs. Vickie Guerrero, Maryse, Alicia Fox, Layla and Michelle McCool.

— Former WWE wrestlers Luther Reigns and Gavin Spears are in Phoenix, Arizona visiting friends at WrestleMania XXVI.

— Click here to see a video of Jerry “The King” Lawler sketching a few drawings of Bret Hart at the WrestleMania Art Expo.

source: PWInsider.com

WWE announcer Jerry Lawler tells the UK Sun that even if Jim Ross is healthy and able to return to work in the coming months, WWE will probably hold off on bringing him back to the announcer’s table until WrestleMania 26 next year.

“There’s a strong possibility that WrestleMania could be when he makes a return,” Lawler said. “Even if it’s a situation where he could return a little bit before that, it might be best to just wait and let him come back at Mania — as the comeback of JR would be a big draw.”

Lawler repeated what JR said in a recent blog, that it will two or three months to become “facially ready” for TV again. Lawler says Ross’s voice sounds fine over the phone and someone on the other end wouldn’t know he’s only able to talk out of one side of his mouth.

“I texted him last night, and spoke with him this past week, and he’s doing better but says it will probably be a few months before he’s facially ready to be back on television,” Lawler said. “But when you talk to him, when you just hear his voice, you can’t tell. He doesn’t have slurred speech any more.”

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler lost his bid to become the Mayor of Memphis.

A.C. Wharton, Jr. will be the next Mayor of Memphis. He ran away with the election,  getting 30,964 votes (64 percent). Lawler finished in fifth place with 4,044 votes (4 percent).

For more on the results, visit MyFoxMemphis.com.